Key operating implement



Nov. 29, 1949 S. KOFFLER KEY OPERATING IMPLEMENT Filed Jan. 30. 1 948INVENTQR Jamaal K off Z81.

ORNEY Patented Nov. 29 1949 #15 UNITEID KEY oPERA'rINdnvrrLEMENT SamuelKoflier, Brooklyn, assignorof one half to Irving A. Ore-mland, New York,l I. Y.

Applicationllanuary 30,1948, Serial No. 5,448

{specially designed locks.

Locks'ofthis character are often incorporated with coin controlledvending units that comoperation; such as the movable parts of'some 2Claims. (cl; air-121) prise a receptacle containing articles to be sold,

and mechanically delivered to the buyer after the deposit of a coin;which allows part of the contents to be discharged from the receptacle.To open and close a lock of this kind with a key by hand, when thereceptacle needs refilling, is difiicult and laborious, especially to anattendant who must visit and service a number of such receptacles indifierent places; and it is an important object of this invention toprovide a simple, inexpensive, and easily handled device by which theturning of the key for such locks can be facilitated.

The nature of the invention is described at length herein, andillustrated on the drawings, but the disclosure is explanatory only,andvariations not shown in the drawings may be adopted without deviationfrom the essential construction in which the invention actually resides.

On said drawings,

Figure 1 shows a receptacle having a lock with an implement according tomy invention in position to operate the key thereof; the implement beingshown in section.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the implement on a larger scale;and

Figure 3 is an end view thereof.

The numeral I indicates the metal base of a receptacle and secured tothe base is the body 2 of glass or other transparent material to permita view of the contents. The body has a removable top 3, and within thebody is an upright central rod 4. At the upper end of the rod is a lockcasing 5, and this casing receives a plug with a slot for the insertionof a key 6. The lock may be of any suitable design or construction andneed not be more fully shown or described except to state that thecasing and the key plug are so related and connected to the top 3 androd 4 that, when the key turns the plug in one direction, the top isheld fast; and when rotated in the opposite direction the top isreleased. The receptacle is filled with candies or nuts, for example,and has a coin slot and delivery mechanism, not shown, but working inthe usual way to discharge a measured quantity whenever a coin is putinto the slot and the delivery mechani sm, which is controlled bya-lever within reach ."of the customer, is actuated.

invention residesprimarily in the appliiance illustrated byitself inFigures 2 and 3. In vending receptacles of this type, the locko ften is"such as to require a"n'umberof turns before the top 3 is released. Myimprovement makes easy the rapid rotation of the key and simultaneouslylubricates the inside of the lock. It comprises a hollow shank 1 with anenlarged head 8 at one end. The interior of the shank communicatesthrough a port or duct 9 with a transverse slot II] in the head 8 toreceive the fiat knob on the outer end of the key 6. The shank containspowdered graphite or parafiin or other suitable lubricant which escapes,a little at a time, through the port 9.

The other end of the shank is closed by a removable closure in the formof a screw plug ll having a rigid stem l2 for engagement by a toolcapable of revolving the shank, head and key quickly till the top 3 isunlocked. The stem l2 has a shouldered end and a recess I3 in the sideor is otherwise shaped to fit into the rotatable chuck l4 fixed to therotatable shaft l6 of a tool such as is often used for screw drivers.The shaft has spiral grooves or slots in its outer surface and aslidable handle IS with an internal projection that engages the groovesin the shaft I 5. This kind of tool is well known, and is utilized forputting in screws by inserting the stem of a screw driver in the chuckI4, placing the screw driver into the kerf of the screw and pressingdown on the handle I6. The shaft 15 and the screw driver are thenrevolved by the action of the projection, not shown, in the handle, onthe spiral grooves in the shaft !5. When the stem [2 of the nut H isconnected to the chuck I4 and the head 8 is slipped over the key 6 thesame result is obtained. As the handle is pressed down, the chuck isrevolved by one of the grooves in the shaft l5 to turn the key to unlockthe receptacle. When pulled up, the handle acts through the other spiralgroove in the shaft IE to rotate the chuck l4, head 8, and key 6 in theopposite direction to secure the top 3 by means of the lock 5.

The head 8 has a cover element or sleeve I! with an inside groove I8adjacent one end. The adjacent end of the head 8 has an outside grooveI9, and the parts are connected by an expanding split ring 20 in the twogrooves. The ring is slipped upon the head 8 till it seats in the groovel9, the sleeve I! slipped on the head till the groove l8 registers withthe ring 20, which then expands into the groove l8. The ring is thickenough to project into the groove I9. The sleeve I1 is thus rotatablyheld on the head, and cannot be disconnected. When the handle [6 isoperated, the operator holds the sleeve with one hand to keep the head 8in engagement with the key 6.

The receptacle has a delivery spout 2| on the outside of thebase with apivoted lid or cover 22.

Whenever the key 6 is turned to open or close the look, some of thepowdered lubricant shaken down through the port 9 into the recess 10 andenough runs down the sides of the key to enter the key hole of the lock,5., the lock is maintained in good working condition Having described myinvention, What I be l v' e tobenewis: I l. A device of the kinddescribed comprising;

a hollow shank with a head rigidly attached to encircling the head, thesleeve and head having matched grooves, and a retaining ring engagingsaid grooves to secure the sleeve rotatably upon said head.

2. A device of the kind described comprising a hollow shank with a headhaving a recess at one end and a duct connecting the inside of the shankto said recess, the shank having a closure at the opposite end, and arigidly connected stem pr ojecting, from the closure and shaped to beengaged by a tool for rotating the device, and a rotatable elementmounted on the Number Name Date 86am K9 O la 19W 8732,93 7 Eegley Mar.24,19 a 9135,087- Wilson Feb. 21, 1911 1,425,270 Morgan Aug. 8, 19221,815,755 Armstrong July 21, 1931

